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Five of the six players in attendance:

In the late afternoon of March 11, the main group entered the village of Koko. Vincent had previously convinced the villagers to stand against the approaching Rain King troops, so the party is expecting some suspicion and apprehension. However, the villagers surprise the party with an almost apathetic welcome. They are friendly and sympathetic, but seem to take very lightly the threat of the soldiers.

Meanwhile, Dhersion is trailing the soldiers as they march northeast. However, midway through the day, it becomes clear to him that they are deliberately moving slowly. He makes the decision to pass them in the woods and continue along the path alone. Shortly before dark, he spots the fires of a village ahead, so he presses on, arrives in Koko, and hooks up with the rest of the party.

Despite the approaching threat, the party is treated to a nice, friendly meal. The chief, Machakw, is a large, but quiet, man with little or no leadership skills. The village seems to be run by his warrior, Nootau, along with the village shaman, a woman named Kakawangwa.

The shaman of Koko is unusual in that she can actually cast spells. She uses this skill not only to keep the villagers healthy, but also to endure the cold weather. Finally, she is a skilled alchemist and Bigby spends much of the evening talking to her about the alchemical properties of the local fauna.

Late that evening, Aramil quite suddenly comes down with a nondescript illness that sends him to bed early. The next morning, March 12th, he remains asleep long after the others are up and around.

While the villagers seemed uninspired - or even apathetic - the night before, they spring to action in the morning and begin preparing for the arriving soldiers. However, before the soldiers are even spotted, a Wyvern swoops down and attacks! The great dragon is not what the villagers were expecting, so they scatter, leaving the party alone to fend off the beast.

The creature inflicts a dreadful poison attack on both Roget and Kesi. While Kesi is spared the debilitating effects of the poison, Roget is not as lucky and he lapses into a coma. Combining a vial of Antitoxin from Dhersion, the healing spells of Roderick and Kakawangwa, and the alchemy of Bigby, a heroic effort manages to keep Roget alive - but just barely!

When the Wyvern attacked, Vincent spotted a strange creature in the nearby woods. Once the Wyvern is dispatched, he and Dhersion scour the spot, but find only some giant frog-like tracks near a stream. Plus, with the Rain King's soldiers still approaching, they are forced to leave the “blink frog” as an unsolved mystery.

After the Wyvern, with Roget in a coma, Kesi wounded and poisoned, Aramil sick, and the spell casters drained, the party is clearly in no shape to deal with a score of skilled soldiers. Dhersion and Vincent sprint back along the path to meet the soldiers before they arrive. Their hope is that the woods will afford them enough safety to soften up the enemy before they reach the village.

As expected, the Rain King's soldiers are encountered only a couple of miles outside of Koko. After a brief fight, in which the sorceress manages to temporarily web Dhersion and distract Vincent with an audio illusion, the leader, Niichaad, surprisingly surrenders! As it turns out, the soldiers were merely heading home after the collapse of their mission in Adoette. They had even signaled the traditional sign of surrender - a fir branch held vertically overhead. But the group had never seen this sign before and didn't understand it until too late.

Dhersion and Vincent negotiate safe passage through Koko for Niichaad and his men in exchange for information. Niichaad tells them that the Rain King will almost certainly pursue them to regain his staff. However, the king is also threatened from within, so may not be able to mount as lavish of an expedition the next time.

Back in Koko, with the dangers of the day finally past them, the group settles down to rest. Kakawangwa, along with the rest of the villagers, is impressed with the party's skills and offers to read their futures for them. Most agree and sit through a long ceremony involving much chanting and a handful of hallucinogenic compounds. Each person experiences a vision that is at best surreal, and at worse disturbing. Most choose not to talk about what they saw.

XP awarded: 1,500 each, Running Total: 7,500.